Concha Belt c. 1960

This Concha Belt was made by a Navajo (Diné) artist, and is now at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Look at the hammered silver, isn’t it gorgeous? The whole process feels so thoughtful. It’s not just decoration; it's a conversation between the maker and the material. Each concha, or shell, is like a little sun, radiating out from that central turquoise stone. There’s a real rhythm here, a beat, in the way the circles alternate with those bar-shaped connectors. I love how each piece is slightly different, imperfect. You can almost feel the hand that shaped them. It’s not just about how it looks but how it feels to wear, to hold. And that’s what art is, isn’t it? A wearable sculpture, a connection to the person who made it, and maybe even to yourself. It reminds me a bit of Sheila Hicks’s textile works, where the process is just as important as the final form. There is no right or wrong way to feel about it.